Levin Sword

First Seen

Weapon Type

Most Common Rank

Uses

“A lightning sword. Can be used to attack indirectly.”—In-game description from New Mystery of the Emblem

The Levin Sword (サンダーソード, Sandā sōdo, lit. Thunder Sword), also known as Lightning Sword, is a magic sword that recurrently appears across the Fire Emblem Series. Unlike its other physical brethren, the Levin Sword inflicts magical damage, and can be used for both melee and ranged combat. The sword's various incarnations sees it inflicting magical damage only when used from afar, with the exception of Awakening, in which the wielder's Magic stat is always taken into account to determine their resultant damage output.

The Levin Sword is a weapon that Robin can use in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U, appearing in their smash attacks and aerials (except neutral aerial*). Alluding to Weapon Durability, the Levin Sword can only be used for a certain amount of hits before it breaks. Once their Levin Sword breaks, Robin will use the standard Bronze Sword in place of those attacks until either a new levin sword respawns or they are KO'd. Its indirect attack properties are represented by Robin's Smash Attacks having extended range due to magic jolts while it's equipped, allowing Robin to use them even when they're a short distance away from the opponent without as much risk of being hit (a property known in the Super Smash Bros. community as a "disjoint").

In Awakening, there is a glitch that does not show a character's cut-in when a critical is performed, like with the Bolt Axe and Shockstick.

In Awakening, the Levin Sword and Bolt Axe normally use only their ranged attack animation, even if the unit engages in direct combat with an enemy. However if one checks their unit while they are equipped with a Levin Sword or Bolt Axe, that unit will be shown using it for melee attacks. This appears to have been fixed by the time Fates was released, in which all units perform melee strikes with all magic weapons in direct combat.

It is unknown whether or not the cut-in glitch was also able to be fixed by the release of Fates, as all three weapons were made incapable of performing critical hits to account for their infinite durability in that game, though the former issue may have also been a contributing factor to this change in the weapons' function.

In Smash, Robin can be shown holding two Levin Swords, but only if he catches a used up Levin Sword, and waiting for a fresh one to replace the Bronze Sword.

The Levin Sword isn't the only lightning infused sword; however, it was the first to ever come to fruition. Its successors in the series came in the forms of Eckesachs and Raijinto. Unlike the Levin Sword, both Eckesachs and Raijinto are star ranked, whereas the Levin Sword is usually only a C-Rank weapon.

In addition to this, both legendary weapons deal Strength-based damage rather than Magic – making them substantially less effective than the Levin Sword against units such as Great Knights or Wyvern Lords.

The relationship between the Bolt Axe and Armads is also similar, though once again the latter differs in relying exclusively on the strength stat and is either the highest ranked-axe or star ranked—effectively making the connection between the two almost entirely aesthetic.

In Kirby Star Allies, when infusing any sword-based character with the zap element, the blade of the sword takes on a very similar design to that of the Levin Sword's (possibly as a reference or homage to said sword).

The sharp, crooked design of the Levin Sword is also reminiscent of the kris[1], a sword with a wavy blade that was popular throughout many tribes in Southeast Asia. In many Southeast Asian cultures, the kris was believed to possess magical powers. The Levin Sword's connection to the kris is strengthened because it utilizes the user's magic stat for attacking instead of their strength.